Canada’s new voluntary Grocery Sector Code of Conduct (GSCC) is of “huge interest” to consumers, said Karen Proud, who was appointed to be the initial President and Adjudicator of the Office of the GSCC. 

She will work to make sure that Canadians understand the Code and see how it will be applied. 

Proud identified one key benefit for consumers will be to ensure that, in a supply shortage, customers in areas served only by small, independent groceries will be “still able to get some supply of products that might be constrained,” she said. “If the code is working, we should see a fair distribution at times of constraints.”

As well, if the Code helps smaller suppliers to get their products into larger grocery stores, that may “bring more choice to consumers, more products,” she said.

The office of the GSCC will release annual reports, which should enable consumers to “see how things are going with the Code and what the benefits have been,” she said.

 Proud’s role begins March 17, and the Code is set to come into force on June 1. After prolonged discussion and some thinly veiled government threats, the industry agreed to the ‘voluntary’ Code in 2024, with major retailers Loblaw and Walmart being the final retailers to accept – and perhaps negotiate – acceptable terms. 

Proud will transition out of her role as president and CEO of Fertilizer Canada. She noted her work representing Canada’s fertilizer producers during a labour dispute at British Columbia ports in late 2024 has led to “a much stronger understanding about the fragility of our supply chain and the tremendous cost to … Canada in general, when we have disruptions; it certainly has informed my thinking tremendously.” 

Proud has also worked previously with Food, Health & Consumer Products, the Retail Council of Canada, the Canada Grains Council and Labour Watch.

 The GSCC office will be virtual. Current priorities involve establishing a website, dealing with some financial matters and hiring a person “who can wear a few hats” to handle communications, member services and administrative work. Another employee may be hired to develop educational materials and guidance documents. She also has accepted speaking invitations to industry group meetings between March and June. 

Asked about priorities from the first day on March 17,  Proud said, “right out of the gate, it’s going to be very important for me to get an understanding of the state of readiness of the sector for the coming into force of the Code … I can foresee some sort of an industry survey, along with my talking to various players to find that information, because that’s going to inform pretty quickly where some of the other priorities need to be for my work. 

“If we see that there’s a large gap in knowledge about the Code, then that’s going to focus some of the work on, ‘How do we raise that level of knowledge? What tools do we need to provide as the office to get people on the same page?’

“It’s very important for me to also find out from the various players, what are the interpretations of the code and what needs to be clarified? Where do we need guidance materials developed?”